What do you eat before an important match?

Ask yourself what do you eat before you practice...

The answer is likely that you don't even think about it and it doesn't make any difference.

Do you think Efren will start missing if you give him a cheeseburger and some coke during a match?

Usually just thinking about this gives a player one more thing to be distracted about. I've seen players who try to manipulate their performance with x breathing exercises or y amount of beers and x number of hours sleep. Actually, they do all this because they are nervous and just thinking too much. Be relaxed and focused and you'll perform as well as you're capable of.

Eat when hungry, drink when thirsty, sleep when tired. Don't fixate on it.
 
Colin Colenso said:
Ask yourself what do you eat before you practice...

The answer is likely that you don't even think about it and it doesn't make any difference.
Click to expand...

It absolutely makes a difference. Let's assume Efren can shoot 100% after eating a cheeseburger. Can he shoot 100% after drinking 10 Espressos? If the answer is "Probably not, but that's excessive" then keep in mind that some people are more sensitive to their diet than others. For some, one or two Coffees might be enough to have some negative effect.

Caffeine is only one example. Some people are sensitive to other things. Maybe you aren't, but that's not a fair reason to dismiss it so easily.
 
I agree that too much fixation on what to eat is probably going to back fire. On the other hand, paying attention to one's diet is not necessarily a fixation.

I used to do cross country running when I was a teenager. I remember we always tried to be careful with what we ate, and when we ate, even before a practise session. We also spent a lot of time warming up when we practised. I was told never to drink soda pop because it contained a certain type of acid which was supposed to be bad for the absorbtion of Calcium. I usually ate three hours before and I would not even drink during a session. When we drank afterwards, we would drink very slowly, and try to make sure the water was not too cold...etc

When I was interested in golf, I was told that same thing about diet before I went to the course.

I can see that pool does not require a lot of physical exercise, but it requires a lot of focus and a lot of standing and bending down. Our body reacts to different food differently, and different element can lead to different response from our body system; therefore, I believe there is a good diet and a bad diet for a player who wants to play his best game in an important match.

I have read that a high protein diet can help a player to focus better under pressure, and vitamine B is good for the nerve.

I believe Olympic players have trainers who care for their diet all year long. Whether it is a practise session or not, a serious atheltic would pay attention to what he/she eats.

Do pool players do that? If they do, what kind of eating pattern and diet do they go for?


Richard
 
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